I verbi riflessivi

alzarsi, vestirsi, lavarsi — getting up, getting dressed, washing up.

A reflexive verb is one where the subject does the action TO ITSELF. English usually skips the 'myself' — 'I get up', 'I wash', 'I get dressed' — but Italian marks it explicitly with a pronoun. Mi alzo literally is 'I lift myself' = I get up. The whole daily-routine vocabulary is built on these verbs.

How to spot one

In the dictionary, reflexives end in -arsi, -ersi, -irsi — that final -si is the giveaway. alzare = to lift. alzarsi = to lift oneself = to get up. vestire = to dress (someone). vestirsi = to dress oneself. lavare = to wash (something). lavarsi = to wash up (yourself).

The reflexive pronouns

mi = myself. ti = yourself. si = himself / herself / itself / yourself (formal). ci = ourselves. vi = yourselves. si = themselves. The first four overlap with the direct/indirect pronouns from lessons 13–14 — that's not an accident, but the meaning here is reflexive (back onto the subject).

Conjugation: pronoun + normal verb

Drop the -si, conjugate the verb normally, and add the matching pronoun in front. alzarsi: mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza, ci alziamo, vi alzate, si alzano. vestirsi (regular -ire): mi vesto, ti vesti, si veste, ci vestiamo, vi vestite, si vestono. The verb itself follows the rules from lessons 7 and 9.

Where the pronoun goes — same as before

Just like direct and indirect pronouns: BEFORE the conjugated verb. Mi alzo presto = I get up early. Non ci laviamo qui = We don't wash up here. With an infinitive after voglio, devo, posso, the pronoun glues onto the end and CHANGES to match the subject: Devo alzarmi = I have to get up. Vuoi vestirti? = Do you want to get dressed? Possono lavarsi = they can wash up.

Reflexive vs not — same verb, two meanings

Many verbs exist in both forms with a meaning shift. chiamare = to call (someone). chiamarsi = to call oneself = to be named (lesson 2: mi chiamo). svegliare = to wake (someone) up. svegliarsi = to wake up. fermare = to stop (something). fermarsi = to stop (oneself). The pronoun changes who does what to whom.

Daily routine vocabulary

svegliarsi (to wake up), alzarsi (to get up), lavarsi (to wash up), lavarsi i denti (to brush one's teeth — literally 'to wash oneself the teeth'), vestirsi (to get dressed), prepararsi (to get ready), chiamarsi (to be called). Italian uses the article (not 'my') with body parts: mi lavo le mani = I wash my hands.

Examples

Mi alzo alle sette.

I get up at seven.

mi alzo — first person of alzarsi.

A che ora ti svegli?

What time do you wake up?

ti svegli — second person of svegliarsi.

Si lava le mani.

He's washing his hands.

Italian uses the article le mani, not 'his'. si is the reflexive.

Ci vestiamo in fretta.

We get dressed quickly.

ci vestiamo — first person plural of vestirsi.

I bambini si lavano i denti.

The children are brushing their teeth.

si lavano — third person plural. Literally 'wash themselves the teeth'.

Devo alzarmi presto domani.

I have to get up early tomorrow.

Infinitive alzarsi + devo → alzarmi (the si changes to mi).

Come ti chiami?

What's your name?

Lesson 2 introduced this. chiamarsi literally = 'to call oneself'.

Non si fermano mai.

They never stop.

fermarsi = to stop (oneself). non… mai = never.